Thousands of farmers and peasants who marched to the district headquarters in Palghar in India’s western state of Maharashtra celebrated their victory and announced the suspension of the protest after most of their demands were met on Wednesday, January 21.
Protesters waved red flags and danced when their leaders emerged after a seven-hours-long negotiation with the administration and presented the written agreement.
In a press release on Thursday, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which was leading the agitation, said that the march was suspended in its present form after the district administration agreed to most of the demands. However, the CPI (M) also announced that there are demands which fall beyond the purview of the district administration, and therefore a state- and nation-wide agitation will be launched soon for their fulfillment.
Read more: Thousands of Indian farmers start a long march to press for land rights
Over 50,000 farmers, peasants, and Indigenous people (Adivasis) started a long march from Charoti to Palghar on Monday, January 19. They covered almost 55 kilometers on foot in two days. They then sat in at an indefinite protest in front of the Palghar district administration, despite the attempts of the administration to provoke them.
During the sit-in, thousands of men and women shouted slogans against the anti-people policies of the state and national governments, both led by Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The protesters also spent the night sleeping on the ground and in the open in front of the district administration, despite the cold.
Major demands
The marchers raised various demands, including tillers’ land rights, the protection of the rights of Indigenous people under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), better implementation of Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Area (PEAS) Act, the scrapping of port projects in the region, and the scrapping of four new labor codes.
Within hours after the announcement of the sit-in, the district administration was forced to start negotiations. Among those taking part in the discussion were CPI (M) politbureau member and president of one of India’s largest farmers’ organization, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Ashok Dhawale, and Vinod Nikole, CPI (M) leader and elected representative in the state legislative assembly.
The written agreement presented after the negotiations brings significant assurances to farmers, including the registration of land to tillers in a time-bound manner, to be implemented under the supervision of a committee made of members from the administration and leaders of the CPI (M).
The district administration also promised to address issues related to the implementation of FRA and better accessibility to water resources in the region, along with full implementation of schemes related to employment guarantees.
The marchers, who also included members of organizations such as AIKS, trade unions and student and women groups, resolved to continue the struggle on the remaining demands.
Onward to the national strike
The Palghar agitation will continue as a part of CPI (M)’s and other left organizations’ national agitation against anti-people policies of the Modi-led government.
The organizers of the march have extended their support to the upcoming national strike call announced by organizations including the Central Trade Unions (CTU) and farmers’ collective Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) for February 12.
The strike will be observed in all major sectors across the country, and spurs from the BJP government’s refusal to scrap “anti-worker and pro-corporate” labor codes implemented in November last year.
Other major strike demands include the revocation of the decision to scrap the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), the withdrawal of proposed seed and electricity bills, and the implementation of the legal Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farm products.
The working class in India is also seeking a decisive response to the rising sectarian and religious hatred in the country, which is threatening the constitutional mandate and national harmony. Trade unions and farmers collectives warn the hatred is promoted by the BJP government for its own electoral benefit.
Earlier this month, thousands of farmers and workers took a pledge of continuous agitation against the government until all their demands are met.
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